Pay no attention to that LSU team that slogged around a 35-21 victory over Auburn.

Look closer at the LSU team that went up 21-0 in a blink, then coasted for the better part of three quarters. There are two significant takeaways from the first 20 minutes of the Auburn game: The Tigers are that good—and they’re not mentally strong enough to turn it on and off at will.

LSU could flip a switch the last two seasons on talent alone. This time around, there aren’t enough experienced leaders on a talented but young team that—with the right weekly motivation—can beat anyone in the nation.

“I don’t think we let up,” LSU tailback Jeremy Hill said of the Auburn game. “But I wish we would have finished a lot stronger than we did.”

Blame it on the weather or a young defense or a lack of concentration after it became clear following one quarter that Auburn couldn’t score (until it did when LSU got bored, but that’s part of the problem). Who cares at this point?

LSU will either take a big step this weekend toward making its November Alabama game another mega-showdown or give Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray his third career victory against a top 10 team (he’s 2-6).

* Here’s Oklahoma, everyone. Began the season with a redshirt freshman (Trevor Knight) at quarterback, got smart and played a fourth-year junior (Blake Bell) who has dealt with pressure situations. And whaddya know, the Sooners are suddenly all boffo again. Now that the offense is figured out, we move to the defense.

We’ll see just how far that unit—a significant problem last year and a nice surprise this fall—has come this weekend at Notre Dame. The Irish, as much as anyone, started the OU plunge on defense in last year’s 30-13 victory.

After that game, OU gave up 20, 34, 49, 48, 17 and 41 points over the final six games of the season. After games against three nobodies this fall, OU is fifth in the nation in scoring defense (9 points per game).

While ND has had its problems on offense, it has receivers who can press the OU secondary (a weakness) and spread the Sooners out and force them to cover in space (a major problem last season).

* Yep, it’s a crazy thought. But the reality is that Stanford, under both Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw, has had one clunker every season in the elite years.

Last year, it was a loss to Washington on the road. Two years ago, the Cardinal nearly blew a home game against a bad Cal team.

In 2010, the Cardinal needed a touchdown with five minutes to play to beat Arizona State. Is it really that much of a stretch to see Stanford stumble this weekend at Washington State?

The Cardinal are coming off a big show-me game against Arizona State, so it’s a natural letdown game and they’re playing in the Palouse—where nothing is ever as it seems (and I mean that lovingly).

Besides, Kevin Hogan’s unbeaten record as a starter has to end at some point, doesn’t it?

What worked in Week 4

Baylor. Offense, defense, special teams. Basically everything. The Bears have played nobodies, and don’t play a somebody until a Nov. 7 game against Oklahoma. Look at the upcoming schedule: bye week, West Virginia, at Kansas State, Iowa State, at Kansas.

What needs work

Michigan. All aspects. Never has a team looked so ready to play in a big game at the end of the season one week and like a team that doesn’t belong on the field with UConn the next week. Much less Akron.